


Unfair

by hopeassassin



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Angst, Complex relationships, Heartbreak, Multi, One-Sided Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2013-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-06 02:20:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1101226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeassassin/pseuds/hopeassassin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were both just <i>so unfair</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unfair

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this pic](http://hopeassassin.tumblr.com/post/69898643334/kagami-kuns-confession).

It had been a day just like any other.

 

They had played basketball together until they could no longer see the ball. The street court didn’t have good enough lighting, so they were forced to stop when they started missing baskets just because there wasn’t enough light to aim properly.

 

It was too late, so Maji had already closed for the day, so Kagami invited Aomine over for dinner. Ever the gluttonous bastard (not that he could hold it against him), Aomine didn’t even make pause before he heartily agreed.

 

So here Kagami was, watching his basketball rival and tentative friend tie his shoelaces at his front door. He watched in something of a daze while Aomine straightened to his impressive height, running a hand through his hair which had been growing longer lately, getting in his eyes and tickling the side of his face. And it was _stupid, stupid, stupid_ how hard the redhead found looking away from that treacherous navy mane of his once his eyes fell on it.

 

It was even stupider that it made him remember the ways it fluttered when they were on the court, or how Aomine loved to slick it back while playing, hugely aided by the fact it quickly dampened from his sweat thanks to their strenuous play. It was stupid, because Taiga didn’t notice these things when they happened, but he noticed them later and it made him realize what an outright _idiot_ he was.

 

And no matter how well he realized he was being daft, he couldn’t help the slight flutter in his chest when Aomine fixed him with a small smile before bidding him goodnight, already turning around to walk out of Taiga’s apartment.

 

He was an idiot—all of Seirin and pretty much every Generation of Miracles member—along with pretty much every Uncrowned King—probably knew this very well. But still, Taiga had enough of his wits about him to _know_ when he was starting to fall for someone.

 

At first, he hadn’t paid it much heed. He had thought it was just a sort of admiration, a passion that he felt simply because he had found a worthwhile opponent even though he hadn’t counted on it much ever since coming to Japan for high school. That’s what he thought of Aomine—a worthwhile opponent, someone who lit his fire on court.

 

But if that’s all there was to it, why was Taiga getting more and more fascinated with things about the Touou ace that had nothing to do with basketball or playing? Like, for example, the way his skin glistened in the warm sunset glow on their way back home? Or how his Adam’s apple bobbed while he greedily drank generous gulp after generous gulp from his water bottle? Or how even though he was so uncouth usually, and regardless of how starved he was, whenever he ate at Taiga’s he always savoured his food slowly and almost deliberately?

 

He noticed all these things and a thousand more and the more of them he saw, the more they drove him insane. He hated knowing these things. He hated noticing them. He hated being aware of them, because the more aware of them he became, the harder it was to think about anything other than Aomine and his quirks.

 

As if being haunted every waking moment by thoughts of the asshole wasn’t enough, Taiga was sure he was clinically ill about the time when he started dreaming of the guy.

 

And if that wasn’t worrisome in itself, the content of those dreams surely was.

 

It was the first time he’d ever had thoughts, _feelings_ , like this for a guy. Or for any person, for that matter. But the fact the person was a guy definitely did a great deal of making it impossible for Taiga to figure out what he should do for a long while.

 

At first he thought that it would be best if he simply ignored those feelings. Pretend he didn’t have them. Pretend he didn’t notice them. And for a while, lying to himself was working out pretty well—he could act normal, behave normal, as long as nothing that made those feelings intensify happened.

 

But since Aomine had no clue about them, and Aomine being Aomine, he always did stuff that breached Taiga’s comfort bubble. He’d throw an arm around the Seirin Ace’s shoulders, or condescendingly pat his head when the redhead lost in one of their notorious one on ones. Or he’d smile just like he was doing now at Taiga’s doorstep and it would become impossible to ignore the rampant heartbeat in his chest.

 

It was the littlest things he did that set Taiga off. They kept piling up, like snow, until he felt like he was completely buried underneath all Aomine Daiki stood for. His haughty speech, his amazing athletic ability, his broad shoulders, his ringing laugh, his annoying smirk. How was it possible that everything he used to hate the bastard for suddenly became all he could think about?

 

“So unfair…” he muttered to himself, making Daiki cock a curious brow at him.

 

“What was that?” the navy-haired boy asked, but his companion was too far gone in his own dreamland to hear him speak. Shrugging his shoulders, Aomine decided to leave it be for now. “Well, whatever, weirdo. I’m going home before my mom actually starts worrying. She can be a real eyesore when she decides to.”

 

Taiga glared up at Daiki, his arms crossed over his chest.

 

“Yeah, yeah, enough with the ceremonials. Just go already, idiot,” Taiga said with an exhausted sigh.

 

Frankly, he expected to get the trademark Aomine short-tempered lash out in retort, but instead the Touou ace only smirked crookedly before opening Taiga’s front door.

 

“See ya, Taiga,” he said with a noncommittal wave, and he was gone.

 

Only after the guilt of having made his crush feel like he had overstayed his welcome set in did Kagami have half a mind to realize that the moron had forgotten his bag next to the shoe box. He shook his head and was just about to sprint out when he noticed the guy coming back up the stairs.

 

“I forgot my bag,” he said in way of explanation, looking as sheepish as someone as predatory as Aomine Daiki could ever be.

 

Taiga shook his head as he passed him the item he was looking for.

 

“Seriously, what did I ever see in you? You’re way more trouble than you’re worth,” he muttered to himself, but just a bit too loudly for Daiki’s sensitive hearing to miss this time.

 

As he took his bag from Kagami’s hold, he glowered at the other man.

 

“The hell was that supposed to mean?” he asked, bristling.

 

Only once the defensive tone registered in Kagami’s mind did he realize how it must’ve sounded to Aomine.

 

He got so flustered, being misunderstood by _him,_ of all people, that he ended up scrambling to correct his misunderstanding. He didn’t give himself a chance to realize that Aomine misunderstanding might have been better.

 

“No, I didn’t mean it like that!”

 

“Then what the fuck did you mean it like? It certainly sounded like an insult to me,” Daiki growled out, taking a menacing step closer towards Kagami.

 

“As if I could ever say something like that about you anyway…” Kagami’s voice grew softer and softer the more he realized he was digging himself a deeper hole to fall into.

 

“And why not?”

 

Well… Since they’d come all the way there, might as well take that last step, right?

 

“Because I like you.”

 

Aomine’s face froze in the mask of irritation, but the emotion was slowly siphoning out of him. Scared by his silence, Kagami continued.

 

“I mean, I _like_ like you. And I know it’s stupid and pointless, but, I can’t help it. I tried to make it go away, but I couldn’t. So—there! I said it!” His tone had grown accusatory by the time he reached the end of his impromptu (clumsy) confession.

 

When Aomine’s silence stretched on, despite the violent blush on his cheeks, the Seirin ace chanced a glance at his crush’s face.

 

He found it rid of any and all emotion, the only discernable expression on his face that of surprise.

 

“S-stop staring at me like that!” Kagami demanded at length, when all Aomine did was stare at his profile.

 

“Ah, sorry,” Daiki said, setting the bag on his shoulder more comfortably while he shifted his gaze away. “That really came out of the left field. I have no idea what to say.”

 

It was true that the confession had blindsided him—and quite severely at that, too. But still, did he just _have_ to scrutinize Taiga with that relentless azure gaze of his?!

 

After what felt like an eternity to the excruciated Seirin player, Daiki let out a thoughtful hum in the back of his throat.

 

“So, you like me. Hmmm…” The hairs on the back of Taiga’s neck prickled to attention, making him very aware that Daiki’s eyes were on him again. “I’ll give it some thought.”

 

“Huh?” the redhead all but squeaked out. His surprise was so grand that it made him unwittingly meet the darker male’s eye.

 

In doing so, he saw perfectly how Daiki’s brows rose in turn.

 

“I’ve never really thought of anyone like that, so I don’t really know what to say myself. I’ll need some time to think about it.”

 

The dumbfounded look on the red-haired man’s face was so profound that it prompted his companion to prompt him this time.

 

“Ah, no, it’s just…” Kagami started out shakily, turning his gaze away from the other. “I just… thought you’d say something like ‘Ew, gross!’ or ‘Go away, you freak!’ or that you’d laugh at me, or punch me, or something like that. I didn’t think you’d take me seriously at all, s-so…”

 

“Should I be laughing?” Kagami shook his head. “If you are being serious about this, then I will be, too.”

 

Taiga blinked in surprise at his guest, caught unawares by this new side of him. He’d never seen Aomine so earnest, so genuinely serious and dead-set on something that wasn’t basketball.

 

And it made him hate himself just a little from the fact his heart was racing in exhilaration at the thought he was the one that had made him show that expression.

 

“Give me some time to figure it out, okay?”

 

He didn’t trust his voice to speak anymore. He’d made enough of a spectacle of himself tonight. He’d given Aomine enough leverage to last him a lifetime. So he wasn’t going to let him hear his voice crack with emotion – nuh uh!

 

So instead of saying anything, he nodded his head, swallowing dryly.

 

When the door closed and Aomine was on his way home, Taiga collapsed to his knees in his apartment’s corridor, his heart racing at a hundred miles per hour.

 

What had he just done?

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Satsuki?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“What does it feel like when you think of Tetsu?”

 

She spat out her juice, soaking her math homework notebook with the liquid. His question had caught her completely off-guard. She had no ready response to give him.

 

“W-why the hell do you ask?” He had never been curious about these things before. Why the sudden interest? She couldn’t help but feel a little defensive about it.

 

Instead of reacting like she normally would’ve expected him to, Daiki simply tilted his head in befuddlement to her side where he sat on her bed.

 

“Well, you always said you like him. So I was wondering what that felt like.”

 

Satsuki gingerly dabbed her lips with her handkerchief, doing her best to regain some of her dignity after that last rather unladylike outburst.

 

“You’ve liked girls too—you know what it’s like,” she reasoned calmly as she (futilely) tried to sap up some of the moisture from her notebook.

 

“Yeah, but I’ve never been in love, so I wouldn’t know.”

 

“So who do you think you’re in love with?” she asked with a slightly sly smirk, her overactive mind already conjuring several possibilities.

 

“I don’t think I am. But I got confessed to—I think—and I promised I’d give it some thought. So I thought I’d ask you – you’re technically a girl, so you should know better about these things, right?”

 

Satsuki tried to ignore the sharp jab of irritation that speared through her at his use of ‘technically’ in that statement. She’d get him back for that one later.

 

“Ohh, some misguided lamb got confused and ended up charmed by an idiot like you? I have never pitied a stranger more than I pity this person.”

 

He threw her an evil look out of the corner of his eye before huffing angrily.

 

“I doubt ‘lamb’ is a very accurate way to label him, and I’m pretty sure he knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he got himself ‘charmed’ by an ‘idiot like me’, thank you very much.”

 

She didn’t know why it was, but Satsuki felt a distinct sinking feeling in her stomach from those words. Even though she was certain he wasn’t talking right, because what he was saying was nonsense.

 

“Who confessed to you?”

 

“Taiga said he liked me.” Daiki was looking at the wall on the opposite direction of Satsuki’s seated form at her desk. “He said he was serious. So I promised I’d seriously consider it.”

 

Her eyes widened considerably, and her heart skipped a beat in trepidation. Kagamin had confessed to Dai-chan? He was in love? But, but… they were both guys!

 

But, never mind _that_.

 

Kagamin had confessed to Dai-chan. Kagamin. The only person Dai-chan had trusted other than her and Tetsu-kun. The only person he relied on other than her. Kagamin, his rival on court. Kagamin, the guy who was so alike him, while being so different.

 

Kagamin, whom he spent almost all of his available free time with already.

 

Kagamin, his friend. His rival. The spark of his spunk.

 

Kagamin had come to love him.

 

Why? When? _How_?!

 

Those were among the topmost questions that sprung to mind, spinning round and round in her head for a while.

 

She was so surprised, so baffled by this unexpected piece of information that even her superior analytical capabilities couldn’t get her out of this bind.

 

Why now? How was it possible? What was going to happen now? Was Dai-chan going to seriously consider Kagamin’s feelings?

 

If he did, would he seriously decide to give it a chance?

 

What would happen to _their_ bond if Dai-chan suddenly got a boyfriend?

 

Those were some of the secondary thoughts that fluttered to the forefront of her mind.

 

The other was the loud, resounding repetitive _NO_ that she heard— _felt_ —tearing her from the inside, gnawing at her gut and clawing at her mind. No. No, no, no, no, no. No! No!

 

But she didn’t mutter it aloud. She let it sink, along with the dread and horror that settled in her stomach, as she continued to pretend like the conversation hadn’t made much of an impression on her.

 

* * *

 

“Taiga?”

 

“Huh!” Kagami all but dropped his fifth Maji burger that had been in his hands. He had become so skittish around Daiki lately that the latter couldn’t help but be endlessly amused by his antics sometimes.

 

The only times when he was his normal self was when they were on court.

 

“What do you like about me?”

 

After some sputtering, Kagami busied himself with angrily chewing on his food.

 

“Who knows? You’re so annoying, cocky and a bastard all the time that it makes me wonder!”

 

Instead of lashing back like he would’ve believed him to, Daiki simply hummed in the back of his throat thoughtfully, looking out the window.

 

“Figured as much,” he said nonchalantly.

 

His expression was so vacant and deadpan that Kagami couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty over his somewhat childish outburst. Even though it was true that Aomine already had a big enough head that needed no further inflation, it was also true that for once he was actually giving something important the thought and weight it deserved to be laden with.

 

Plus, the notion of being fancied by a guy was definitely new to him. For Taiga, it had taken a long time to even get accustomed to it, not to mention accept it and live with it. It was somewhat heartless of him to be mean to the Touou ace.

 

“I’m not really sure _what_ it is about you that got to me, but I know that whenever we’re together, even the most boring, same old stuff like eating at the same old food joint becomes a piece of happiness.”

 

When their eyes met and Taiga realized what he’d said, he hurried to look away from the other. He was wise to do so, because the toothy grin on Daiki’s face in that very same moment would’ve disarmed him completely.

 

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

 

At first she had believed that the reason Kagamin’s confession had made her feel the way it did—a way she was incapable of properly describing or explaining even to herself—was because the thought of Dai-chan getting a boyfriend before her feelings ever got through to Tetsu-kun horrified her. After all, she had been chasing after the teal-haired shadow for so long, and she had adored him for such a long time; how was it possible that Kagamin’s recent love could bear fruit before hers ever did? _Unacceptable_.

 

But the more time she spent seeing Dai-chan deep in thought or asking questions that were uncharacteristic of him to ponder, the more her feeling of dread deepened and grew. The more his thoughts became plagued by Kagamin, the more time he spent on trying to work out what exactly it was that he felt for the red headed light, the more insecure Satsuki felt.

 

Kagamin had already taken a special place in Dai-chan’s heart. He was his one and only worthy rival. He was his one and only proper look-alike. They were like two peas in a pod. They fought a lot because they got along great. They were too similar.

 

Kagamin was already special enough.

 

So why, _why_ did he have to go ahead and steal what little else there was to take in Dai-chan’s heart for himself? Why was he trying to become something different, something _more_ , elbowing everything else that had been there for Dai-chan to rely on, to think about, to lean on before Kagamin had come?

 

Why was Kagamin trying to push her out of Dai-chan’s heart? Why was he trying to monopolize the functions she had always had for the navy haired boy? Why was he trying to become everything to her childhood friend, so that he would no longer need anyone else?

 

Why was Kagamin trying to force her out of Dai-chan’s life?

 

She knew that he probably didn’t consider it from that way. Of course he wouldn’t. He was in love. He loved him, so he was all he saw. She had crushed after Tetsu-kun for so long, so she could relate to the feeling perfectly—of course she could.

 

But _how could he_?

 

How could he so carelessly, so easily say just a few choice words— _just words_ —and already he was something, _someone_ even more important to Dai-chan that she was?

 

Wasn’t he content with what he already had? Wasn’t he content with the vast amount of power, time, and space he had in Dai-chan’s life?

 

Why was he trying to take over hers too? So mean, _so mean, Kagamin, how could you_?!

 

Because Satsuki was no idiot. She knew that the moment Dai-chan got a lover, she would become unneeded. He wouldn’t need her taking care of him, making sure he did what he should, that he went where he was asked for. He wouldn’t need her catering to his whimsical requests, or chastising him, or scolding him for being the idiot he was.

 

He wouldn’t need her. He wouldn’t think of her. He wouldn’t remember of her when he needed someone to turn to. She wouldn’t be the person that she was to him now.

 

She would still be his childhood friend, but it wouldn’t matter as much anymore. Not when there was someone more special to him than that—someone more than a friend, someone who filled his whole heart and mind, pushing out everything and everyone else.

 

She wanted Dai-chan to be happy. She liked Kagamin, so she wanted him to be happy, too.

 

And yet the thought that the two of them would be perfectly happy together, _without her_ , made her feel like crying her eyes out.

 

* * *

 

At first, Taiga had worried that he had ruined it with that thoughtless confession of his. All of it—their riveting one-on-ones, their outings downtown after the games, their shopping trips for basketball goods.

 

But then Aomine had actually acted like a normal human being—in fact, he had acted like a lot better man than Kagami had believed him to be initially—and given him the time and thought his confession had required.

 

As time wore on, however, even though they were still acting like normal, Kagami couldn’t help but start feeling a bit uncertain. The days passed and yet his confession received no direct response. Aomine neither rejected nor accepted his feelings, leaving Kagami in eternal emotional limbo, as he fought against all the hopes the Touou ace’s smiles and nonchalant touches gave him.

 

He was making Taiga hang on the edge of his seat the entire time, and he should’ve hated him for it.

 

He really should have, so why, _why_ was it that instead, it made him want him all the more, damn it?

 

Goddamn asshole. He seriously was more trouble than he was worth.

 

* * *

 

She wondered if Kagamin could see it. How he was growing more and more on Dai-chan. How he was coming to mean more than he already had.

 

It was so obvious to her that she wondered if it was possible to miss it.

 

It was so glaringly obvious that she doubted anyone in existence who could miss it.

 

She wondered if Dai-chan had accepted Kagamin’s feelings. She wondered if he was trying his best to reciprocate them.

 

She wondered how long it would be before they started dating.

 

It horrified her, thinking of it. Dai-chan and Kagamin dating.

 

It horrified her, because she knew there was nothing to stop them if they already had feelings for one another. Auntie and Uncle would certainly be shocked—at first—but she was sure they would accept it regardless – as long as they were sure it was what Dai-chan wanted. They wouldn’t shun him over something like this. They would support them, as long as it made their son happy.

 

And that’s exactly what horrified her. They’d encourage him, driving him further and further away from her, away from the days that they used to spend together. Away from the times she could just walk in and out of his room as she pleased, drop by unannounced at any time of day, let herself in every morning to kick Daiki out of bed and drag him to school.

 

She wondered how long it would be before Dai-chan gave Kagamin his heart. His whole heart.

 

His heart, which Kagamin had mended. His heart, which she had believed in, nurtured and looked after even when it was in tatters, torn and twisted beyond recognition.

 

She wondered if Kagamin would understand how precious, how _fragile_ that heart was when he received it.

 

She was sure she wouldn’t. Even if he had heard from Tetsu-kun what had happened in middle school, he wasn’t there. He hadn’t seen it.

 

He hadn’t seen how what happened had torn who Dai-chan used to be. He hadn’t seen him change. He hadn’t seen him sink. He hadn’t seen the grotesque twist his character had undergone. He hadn’t seen the innocent, carefree Dai-chan from before Teikou. He didn’t know. He would never know. He would never appreciate the way he had fixed him.

 

And the fact he _wouldn’t need to_ as long as he continued to be in love with Daiki made her hurt the most.

 

* * *

 

“Please don’t take him from me.”

 

She hadn’t meant to say it. She hadn’t even meant to talk about him to Kagami. It hurt too much. She was perpetually in pain nowadays. _Ever since_.

 

But it was all she could think about. She tried her best to be happy for them, to be supportive, to act like the friend she was supposed to be. She really did.

 

It made her heart bleed. Faking smiles and forcing her voice to be solid as she encouraged Daiki. She really did her best to be that person but she couldn’t. She just couldn’t. Not when every thought in her waking mind revolved around—

 

“Please… Don’t take him from me. Please.”

 

Her voice shrank more and more, until it was barely audible in the bustle of the busy street they had run into each other. Her plea made Kagami drop his Maji burger shake as his fingers grew numb. When the large cup dropped on the pavement, its remains splattering in the space between the Seirin ace and the Touou manager, the redhead didn’t even have half a mind to care about the loss of his drink.

 

Not when something a lot more important to him was suddenly starting to slip from his grasp.

 

“Wh-what are you saying?” he muttered with a hollow voice. “Weren’t you in love with Kuroko?”

 

She looked away guiltily, her eyes welling up.

 

“I am.”

 

A stab of irritation pierced through Taiga’s heart.

 

“You’re in love with Kuroko, so why do you care whether Aomine is with me or not?”

 

She bit her lip guiltily, refusing to meet his gaze. She was ashamed. She was embarrassed but she refused to take back what she said.

 

These were her real feelings, he realized. His eyes widened.

 

“Are you in love with him?”

 

She stayed perfectly motionless and speechless for what felt like a small moment in eternity. She didn’t say anything, didn’t do anything, didn’t move—save for the slight shaking in her body and limbs.

 

Did she love him? Well, she did love him for sure, but was she in love with him? She honestly didn’t know.

 

What she did know was that if Kagamin nestled into Dai-chan’s heart, she would never feel the same again.

 

“You love Kuroko but you want to keep Aomine too?”

 

Phrased like that, it made her realize just how horrible she was being, asking this. A wave of self-loathing washed over her, but she still adamantly refused to budge from her plea.

 

And as Kagami watched the emotions wrestle each other on her face, he realized with a sinking feeling that she was just like him. Whether she realized it or not, she was. And that flooring realization made him all that powerless to oppose her.

 

The only difference was that he had faced the truth and taken action upon it. While she remained confused and disoriented, but blinded by pain and suffering in the face of losing the most important person in her life.

 

In the face of losing Daiki to him.

 

If things had stood differently, he was sure that he would’ve been the one standing there, asking her not to butt in. Not to ruin it. Not to steal what he already had with Aomine. He would’ve been the one wracked with grief and conflict over the fact that he would be left behind if the other party pushed only just a bit further.

 

She was being incredibly selfish, because while he could promise to make Daiki happy, she never made such promises. She couldn’t, as long as she continued being oblivious why she was in so much pain at the prospect of having him taken away from her. She was being so selfish, wanting to keep him without actually wanting him. She needed him without knowing why.

 

And the fact that she was him without realizing it made him feel all the more disheartened and incapable of denying her the heartfelt plea.

 

“Unfair…” he muttered to himself. “You’re so unfair, Momoi.”

 

It was unfair that she could twist his arm around like that without meaning to. It was unfair that she had the audacity to ask for Daiki when she already had Kuroko. It was all so unfair to him that she never once considered his feelings through this all.

 

Speak of the devil and he doth appear.

 

From the gaggle of people coming and going from behind Momoi, Taiga noticed a familiar navy haired head coming into view. A sharp stab of panic and pain laced through him. Why was he coming to them _now_ of all times? Why did he have to show up _now_ at all?! As if this wasn’t already confusing and excruciating enough!

 

“Oi, Taiga! What are you up to, why didn’t you say you were dropping by in town—” His comment was punctured by the realization that Taiga wasn’t alone. “Oh, Satsuki! You’re here as well? What’s with you guys meeting in secret without me, huh? Any reason why I should—” His thought was interrupted yet again, this time by the realization that there were tears sliding down Satsuki’s cheeks.

 

And, just like that, he went from amiable to defensive in the span of a heartbeat.

 

Daiki turned slowly towards Taiga, who had just realized as well that his interlocutor was in tears. When their eyes met again, the Seirin ace was floored by the stoniness in the azure orbs of his crush.

 

“Oi, Kagami,” he started in a deadpan tone. As if it wasn’t enough that the warmth had completely left his voice, the red head had gone from being ‘Taiga’ to being ‘Kagami’ in less than a minute. “Why’s Satsuki crying? Did you make her cry?”

 

Kagami’s eyes widened in disbelief. He had gone from being someone Aomine wanted to throw an arm around and joke happily with to someone who was threatening something important. He had turned from best friend to enemy in such a short time, and over a misunderstanding…!

 

Of course, he knew that Aomine wasn’t daft enough not to understand should he explain.

 

But how was he supposed to explain this situation to him?

 

And, besides, wasn’t this proof enough on how he really felt, on a primordial level?

 

Regardless what happened, how their bond changed and developed, he would always be second the minute Momoi started crying.

 

It was pathetic that he begrudged her that. It was horrible that he thought her a conniving witch for resorting to this kind of emotional extortion just to get the things she wanted for herself. She was so unfair, and she got Aomine by the nose.

 

Kagami was gaping at them, unable to form a response. All that registered with his garbled mind was how Aomine was bristling, Momoi firmly behind his back, the slightly taller Touou ace shielding her from view. The glare in Aomine’s eyes was so intense it was almost scary.

 

“God, you’re both so horribly unfair…” Taiga muttered to himself, his heart breaking. He shook his head, letting his fringe cover his eyes. “I’m so done here.”

 

“Oi, wait a second!” Aomine made to grab at the collar of his shirt, but when he was met with the deadened look in Taiga’s eyes, he let go as though scalded.

 

“No, Dai-chan!” Momoi called out from behind him, grabbing fistfuls of Aomine’s shirt. “It’s not Kagamin’s fault! I-I’m the one who…” but the rest of what she said got drowned out in her tears.

 

When Aomine turned to look at his childhood friend, asking her what had happened and telling her to get a grip on herself, Kagami shook his head again. There was no way he could get in the middle of that. Even if he tried, it would take him a while to actually earn a place in the middle of it.

 

He just wasn’t strong enough to last that long, really.

 

And if the way he felt was making a defenceless girl cry, who was he to insist, right?

 

“I hope you two are happy together,” he murmured as he turned around and walked out, every single step he made away from them weighing heavily on his heart.

 

“Oi, Kagami!” Aomine called out from behind him, he could hear. But he resisted the urge to pause in his retreat, lest he should come undone in a horrible mess right there in the middle of the street. “Kagami!” Daiki shouted in a mixture of anger and confusion while he took a step in the direction the redhead had left in.

 

A tiny part of Taiga hoped that he would actually rush after him. That he’d come to stop him, to demand what had happened. A part of him hoped that he would _listen_ , instead of habitually just _react_ to stuff.

 

But he ignored that tiny part of himself. He knew it was a feeble hope. That there was no way Aomine would choose him over Momoi, if he knew what Taiga knew. And even if he did choose Taiga, a happiness he built over breaking a girl’s heart was not really a kind of happiness he could sustain.

 

“You deserve each other,” he muttered angrily to himself as he stomped in direction of his apartment. “You’re both so perfectly unfair.”

 

And with that, his hopeless first love ended before it had even properly started.

 

* * *

 

“Go after him,” she said after she swallowed some of her grief down. Daiki looked at her flabbergasted. She resisted the urge to smack him for making such a stupid expression—he was like a kicked puppy. “Run after him!” she pushed against him, shoving him in the general direction Kagami had gone. “I’m fine, and you need to hear him out! Just… go!”

 

“But—”

 

“No buts! Just go already, you idiot!” she pushed him forward again, this time giving him a considerable start when taking into account how tiny she was compared to him.

 

And as he slowly started walking forward, she smiled sadly to herself before giving him her back. It was okay. She was strong. She could handle this. She was strong enough to at least break down _after_ he was out of sight and earshot. She could do this.

 

They should be happy together. She would be able to be happy for them, too, in due time. She had done something horrible to Kagamin. She was horrible.

 

The thoughts kept piling up on top of one another, making her choke on her unshed tears.

 

A firm hand settled on her shoulder, forcing her to turn around and face its owner. When she looked up, she was half surprised, half relieved to be met with a familiar pair of sapphire eyes. The navy brows were set into a firm scowl of concern as the man she’d known her entire life fixed her with his most earnest worried look.

 

“Tell me what happened. Why are you crying? What the hell is going on?”

 

She couldn’t help it. Why did he stay? He should’ve gone after Kagamin. He should’ve asked Kagamin. Kagamin was the most important person to him now.

 

Nothing anyone else said should’ve mattered to him.

 

“Dai-chan, I’m sorry!” she wailed out, clinging to his arm for support as she no longer trusted herself to stay upright. “I did something horrible to Kagamin! I’m so sorry! I’m the worst, the worst, _the worst!_ ”

 

“Haa?!” Daiki exclaimed, his disbelief shining through in the sound. He didn’t think it was possible for someone as tiny as Satsuki to do any real damage to anyone, least of all a guy as sturdy as Kagami.

 

“I hurt him. I said something terrible. I was so selfish and—and—instead of telling me off, he just walked away!” The tears streaming from her eyes were starting to blind her now, but even with her blurred vision and almost-delirious state of mind, she had her wits about her enough to figure out one thing. “You need to go after him. You _have to go_!” she pushed Daiki again, but the force in her push was gone completely. “If you don’t go after him now…”

 

She didn’t finish. She couldn’t finish. The emotions the end of that thought brought were so complex and so strong they strangled her voice in her throat and knocked the wind out of her chest. So instead of finishing her sentence, she gave Daiki one last push, a powerless ‘Go!’ on her lips before she collapsed to her knees in the middle of the street.

 

Instead of continuing to demand what had happened, Daiki simply looked on, down at his childhood friend who was crying noiselessly, the tears continuing to fall from her eyes as she stared at the pavement under her knees. She looked so broken and hopeless, it tugged on his heartstrings.

 

He knew that he should probably go after Taiga. She was right. If she had been the one to hurt him, it should’ve been up to Daiki to make up for whatever damage she had dealt.

 

But whatever they had quarrelled about, there was no way she could seriously believe Daiki could just leave her there, a broken mess, while he went to patch things up with someone else.

 

He heaved a great sigh as he crouched in front of her, aware of the way their little scene was gaining more and more spectators from the passers-by. But, never one to mind what other people thought, he merely settled a hand atop of Satsuki’s head, making her look up at him in confusion with her shimmering magenta eyes.

 

“I’m not going anywhere until you calm down.”

 

Instead of making her feel reassured and calmer, his statement only ended up making Satsuki cry harder as she threw herself against his chest, clinging to his shirt as she wailed out unintelligible explanations and saying sorry over and over again.

 

He had no idea what she was apologizing about, but he’d make sure to find out eventually.

 

And regardless of what he _should have_ done, he knew that the only place he could really be in this situation was right there: holding her in his embrace awkwardly as he wondered what had reduced a girl as strong as her to this raw mess of emotions. 

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if it came out as well-rounded as I intended it. But, I hope I conveyed the idea properly. Born mostly out of my desire to write something AoKaga, but being a thorough AoMomo shipper -> result right here. I'm sorry for not being sorry enough. I promise I'll write something happier to make up for this ASAP.
> 
> Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed despite the severity of the angstfest.


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